‘I can confirm there are no plans to end the show after the fifth series,’ Neame said. ‘ITV commission each series on a year-by-year basis.’

He added: ‘In an interview given to the Wall Street Journal Julian Fellowes stated the show would not go on forever (inevitable, of course), and something both he and I have been on the record for previously.

‘For now ITV have commissioned series five and that is what we are busy preparing.’

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Downton‘s future looked in doubt following last month’s Christmas special, which was watched by 6.6 million, as Fellowes said he couldn’t focus on his next project – The Gilded Age – until Downton Abbey had ended.

‘Neame will be collaborating with Fellowes again on The Gilded Age – a project that will in due course be developed for NBC Universal – hence there is no conflict between the two projects,’ Carnival Films confirmed.

An average of 11.8 million viewers watched the last series of Downton Abbey, with a new series expected this year.

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